At Home

Spending and saving your tax return wisely (so you don’t end up with buyer’s remorse)

6 Comments / At Home, Marriage

It’s tax return time and some people are getting back less than past years or needing to pay in, others are seeing returns that are larger than expected. It’s easy to get dollar bill signs floating in our eyes and want to go buy ALL THE THINGS!

But hold on!

Before you go on a spending spree at Target or Amazon, or book that dream vacation, take a look at this list of ideas of how to spend your tax return wisely, so you aren’t regretting your purchases when the rose colored glasses come off.

Update on 2019 Goals – February

Leave a Comment / At Home, Goal Setting

January took approximately 572 years but February was gone by the time I blinked. I don’t get how a loss of 2-3 days compared to a normal month can make such a difference but oh my goodness! I feel like we didn’t get to do anything in February!

Okay, that’s a lie because we actually did do quite a bit. We celebrated our daughter’s sixth birthday, we got our taxes filed, we picked out a new couch (eventually we will actually go buy it!) and I finished writing my first ebook! Now I need to edit it so it’s ready to show all of you 😀 That will be one of my main focuses over the next few weeks. I don’t think it will take super long and I already have time blocked out in my day to focus only on book work. Wooo!

15+ awesome (& frugal) birthday traditions

6 Comments / Family Life, Seasonal

We’ve tried out multiple ways to make the birthday kiddo feel extra special over the years, and it’s always fun finding new ways to celebrate as the years go by. If you are looking for some fun new ways to celebrate with your kids then check out this list of more than fifteen fun birthday traditions you can start in your family. And even better? You won’t need to pull change out from the couch cushions to afford them 😉 

How to create an evening routine to set your morning up for success

2 Comments / At Home, Family Life

If there is one thing our mornings have taught me it’s that a good morning will always begin the night before. It’s nearly impossible to have a successful morning if you don’t do anything to prep ahead of time. It doesn’t need to be anything extensive or take lots of extra time. A good evening routine is about a few simple steps to help your mornings start on the best foot possible!

The Beginner’s Guide to Batch Cooking

2 Comments / At Home, Homemaking

Over ten years ago when I first started getting hands-on in the kitchen (meaning trying to make things from scratch) I had no idea what batch cooking was. Blogging was only beginning to be a thing so there weren’t thousands of people telling you all about it. In fact, I only followed a few blogs at that point and I don’t remember them ever using the term!

I was simply doing what made sense in my head – “I’m already getting the dishes dirty, I have the ingredients on hand, I may as well make a double (triple, quadruple, etc) batch and stick the rest in the freezer for another meal. It will save me a mess and time later! Wow, I’m so smart.”

Yes, ten-years-ago-Katie thought she was something special. I mean, I am pretty awesome, but it’s so much more than batch cooking that makes me cool 😉 Anyway…

Why we stopped sorting laundry

2 Comments / At Home, Homemaking

Is sorting laundry necessary? Not in our family! We discovered how to do laundry in a much easier way, how to wash our colors, darks, and lights together, and how to prevent stains and colors bleeding. Find out how to save time in the laundry room!